Alibaba.ir

What Alibaba.ir does

Alibaba.ir (علی‌بابا) is the leading Iranian online travel agency, founded in 2014 and operated by Safarhaye Alibaba Company from Tehran. The platform consolidates fragmented domestic travel supply — nine Iranian airlines, Iran Railway, intercity bus operators, hotels and villas across cities including Kish and Mashhad, package tours, visa services, and travel insurance — alongside nine international carriers serving outbound corridors to Turkey and the UAE, into a single consumer storefront accessible via responsive web and native iOS/Android applications. Differentiating product features include a price calendar for date-flexible comparison, advanced multi-airline search filters, integrated online refund processing, and 24/7 multi-channel customer support; a seller panel (seller.alibaba.ir) and corporate Safarcard program extend distribution to travel agencies and enterprise buyers, while an Installment Travel product and an Alibaba Plus premium membership broaden the commercial model beyond pay-per-transaction.

Name

Alibaba.ir

Legal name

شرکت سفرهای علی‌بابا (Safarhaye Alibaba Company)

Website

https://alibaba.ir

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Alibaba.ir is Iran's leading online travel agency, offering flight, train, bus, hotel, tour, and visa booking to consumers and corporate clients via web and mobile apps, with revenue earned primarily through transaction commissions across eighteen-plus airline and rail partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Travel Booking

NAICS

Travel Agencies (561510)

akta.pro primary industry

B2B OTA/White-Label Booking Platforms & Affiliate Networks (THAKAAAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Trip Disruption, Rebooking & Irregular Operations (IROPS) Automation (THAKANAG), Embedded Travel Insurance Distribution & APIs (THALALAA), Trip Cancellation/Interruption & Refund Protection Platforms (THALALAB), Underwriting, Pricing & Policy Administration (PAS) for Travel Insurance (THALALAK)

Keywords

• Online travel booking
• Flight ticket sales
• Hotel reservations
• Tour packages
• Visa processing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tehran

HQ country

Iran

HQ region

Middle East

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales Commission: Platform earns commission on each flight, train, and bus ticket sold through the platform. Transactions facilitated via credit card with Sheba payment system.
2. Hotel Booking Commission: Commission revenue from hotel reservations facilitated through the platform for domestic and international properties.
3. Tour Package Sales: Revenue from packaged tours (تور) to destinations like Kish and Istanbul, including bundled flight and accommodation.
4. Visa Services: Fee-based visa processing and travel visa services for international travel.
5. Safarcard Corporate Program: Organizational travel card program (سفرکارت سازمانی) for corporate clients, generating recurring B2B revenue.
6. Installment Travel (سفر اقساطی): Installment payment plan for travel bookings, potentially generating financing-related revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Alibaba.ir is an Iranian online travel agency (OTA) marketplace that aggregates and facilitates the sale of domestic and international flight tickets, train and bus tickets, hotel accommodations, tour packages, and visa processing services. The platform connects travelers with multiple airlines, hotel partners, tour operators, and visa service providers, offering price comparison, advanced search filters, installment payment plans, online refunds, and 24/7 customer support.

Product overview

Alibaba.ir is a comprehensive online travel booking platform offering a portfolio of interconnected services centered around domestic and international flight tickets, with related travel modules including train tickets, bus tickets, hotel and villa accommodations, package tours, visa services, travel insurance, and a corporate travel card (Safarcard). The platform also provides an agency panel for travel agencies and an installment travel payment option. All services are accessible via a responsive website and a downloadable mobile app for Android and iOS.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• علی بابا پلاس (Alibaba Plus): Premium membership program offering additional benefits to frequent travelers

Products and services

• Flight Ticket Booking

Quantifiable outcome

• 97.2% customer satisfaction rate with full service quality and willingness to recommend
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Mahan Airlines (ماهان)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor Iranian airline partnered for both domestic and international flight ticket distribution through Alibaba.ir platform. Among airlines featured prominently on the platform.
• Zagros Airlines (زاگرس)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor Iranian low-cost airline partnered for ticket distribution on the platform.
• Turkish AirlinescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFlag carrier airline partnered for international flights on the Istanbul-Tehran route and other international routes.
• Qatar AirwayscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational airline partnered for Qatar Airways flights sold through Alibaba.ir platform.
• EmiratescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational airline partnered for Dubai and other routes through Alibaba.ir platform.
• FlydubaicoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUAE low-cost airline partnered for international flight ticket sales.
• Air ArabiacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUAE low-cost airline partnered for Sharjah and other routes.
• IranAirtourcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIranian airline partnered for international flight ticket distribution.
• Qeshm Air (قشم ایر)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIranian airline partnered for both domestic and international routes on the platform.
• Kish Air (کیش ایر)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIranian airline partnered for domestic flight ticket sales on the platform.
• Aseman Airlines (آسمان)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIranian airline partnered for domestic flight ticket sales.
• Caspian Airlines (کاسپین)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIranian airline partnered for domestic flight ticket sales.
• Taban Airlines (تابان)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIranian airline partnered for domestic flight ticket sales.
• Varesh Airlines (وارش)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIranian airline partnered for domestic and international routes including Istanbul-Tehran.
• Meraj Airlines (معراج)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIranian airline partnered for domestic flight ticket sales.
• Ajet (ای‌جت)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTurkish low-cost airline (AnadoluJet subsidiary) partnered for Istanbul routes.
• Saha Airline (صباح)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIranian airline partnered for international routes such as Tehran-Istanbul.
• FlyKish (فلای‌کیش)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIranian airline partnered for Kish-related and international routes.
• Ava Airlines (اوا ایر)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIranian airline partnered for international routes including Istanbul-Tehran.
• Iran Railway (راه‌آهن)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational railway operator partnered for train ticket sales on the platform at alibaba.ir/train-ticket.
• Bus Ticket Operators (اتوبوس)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBus ticket operators partnered for inter-city bus ticket sales on the platform at alibaba.ir/bus-ticket.
• Hotel Partners (هتل‌ها)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNumerous hotel partners including 5-star hotels in Kish (Shaygan, Toranj, Daryoush) and Mashhad (Darvishi) listed on the platform for hotel booking.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Musafir: UAE-based online travel agency focused on flights, hotels, and holiday packages to Iran and the wider Middle East. Overlaps with Alibaba.ir on international air distribution to/from Iran and the broader Middle East corridor.
• Yatra.com: Indian OTA covering flights, hotels, trains, buses, and holiday packages. Comparable business model and product portfolio to Alibaba.ir in an adjacent emerging market, useful as a regional benchmark for unit economics.
• Wego: Middle East-focused travel meta-search and OTA. Shares Alibaba.ir's regional orientation (MENA), fare-comparison UX, and reliance on partnerships with global carriers to/from the Middle East.
• Cleartrip: India/Middle East OTA offering flights, hotels, trains, and activities. Comparable product mix and emerging-market focus to Alibaba.ir, with a stronger presence in the UAE that overlaps with Alibaba.ir's stated markets served.
• MakeMyTrip: Leading Indian OTA for flights, hotels, buses, trains, and holidays. Most structurally similar peer to Alibaba.ir: emerging-market OTA, multi-modal (flights + rail + bus + hotel), self-claim of domestic leadership, and reliance on commission economics. Differs in geography and listing status.

Direct peers

• Flytoday: Iranian online travel agency offering flight, hotel, and tour booking. The most direct local competitor to Alibaba.ir, competing head-to-head in domestic Iranian flight distribution with similar commission economics and a comparable B2C/B2B split.
• Mrbilit: Iranian OTA providing flight, train, bus, and hotel booking. Competes with Alibaba.ir in the same domestic market across the same product categories, particularly on price-sensitive domestic routes.

Broad incumbents

• Booking.com: Global OTA leader with broad hotel, flight, and ground transport inventory. Comparable to Alibaba.ir in core OTA mechanics (commission-based booking, multi-supplier aggregation, price comparison) but operates at vastly larger scale and serves international travelers, whereas Alibaba.ir is Iran-domiciled.
• Skyscanner: Global flight meta-search and OTA platform comparing fares across airlines and OTAs. Alibaba.ir replicates a comparable multi-airline price-comparison experience (Price Calendar, advanced filters) on a single-country basis, but Skyscanner operates as a true meta-search layer worldwide.
• Trip.com: Asia-headquartered global OTA offering flights, hotels, trains, and packages. Directly comparable to Alibaba.ir's multi-modal product mix (flight + train + hotel + tour + visa), but with an international footprint and much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AlibabaIR
• Facebookfacebook.com/alibabaticket

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Alibaba.ir